Healthy kid snacks

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Ok, I know this has been done to death! We’ve slipped in to terrible food habits, kids eat far more crisps and biscuits than are healthy for them.

So, if you eat healthily and avoid UPFs (not going to pretend we can cut them out entirely, but I’d like to minimise them), what snacks do you and your kids eat?

Interested for ideas too. I offer cheese, cold meats, crackers, yoghurt etc but I get the look of death unless it's crisps or biscuits.

We are the same. One of mine loves houmus but seriously how often can I offer that as a snack 😬. I’ve started baking a bit more flapjacks/cupcakes as at least I know what’s gone into them but they are obviously still very sugary. Oh and I keep a pot of pistachios on the island now which they like dipping into.

Cheese
Nuts
Oatcakes
Fruit
Dried fruit
Veg
Roasted chickpeas
Chicken
Rice cakes
Breadsticks

If they're snacking a lot try increasing portion sizes at meals too.

I’d love to. 6 year old in particular will fuss and fuss and fuss that he’s hungry. I serve up lunch - two bites and he’s done. Then desperate for snacks later. I’ve got a lot stricter about putting his meal straight back in front of him when he asks for a snack!

I struggle with the snack/junk culture this generation has, ...but that's a whole new thread for me to rant about

Cheese and oatcake, banana, apple, or carrot, pepper or cucumber sticks with cream cheese to dip. Sometimes I'll make reasonably healthy muffins, banana bread etc. We tend not to ever have crisps or biscuits in the house so it makes it a lot easier! Treat bag comes out for a treat on the weekends, and we sometimes have cake after tea.

Nuts
fruit
Veg sticks (carrots, cucumber etc)
Rice cakes with peanut butter
Cheese
Dried mango

I think this is the way forward. Or just let them be hungry. I also have a 6 year old and exactly the same issue. He just likes snacks more than healthy meals, so do I really!

One of mine would eat tortilla (the potato and onion omelette - not the wraps for fajitas) any time of day. Also porridge and honey, flapjacks.

The other one likes hummus and veg, celery and peanut butter, peanut butter on banana, apple slices and peanut butter, cheese.

They both love salami which I don't mind too much as at least there's no sugar and there js some protein. But it is very much a UPF I think.

I also make my own tortilla chips and guacamole. Probably no healthier tbh but you know

I can always tell when my just turned 5 yr old is having a growth spurt from the snack requests every 2 hours and it all being eaten!

Snacks here include:
Fruit and/or veg sticks, sometimes with some cheese or bread sticks to bulk out
Yogurts
Crackers with cheese/cream cheese
Raisins and peanuts
Oatcakes
Dry shreddies/cheerios

Also the occasional pain au chocolat! She adores them and everyone should have a bit of what they love!

When I can squeeze baking in she likes banana and apple muffins or fruit scones but I don't manage to make those as often as I'd like.

I tend to have some pancakes on the ready (in fridge 24h and a quick heat up add honey, jam etc) or frozen, hummus is a go to - one pot over 2 days. Those egg muffin things (ham, courgette. Tomato etc I make diff mixes), eggs with veg, veg cut up, fruit. Banana bread sometimes, breakfast muffins.
I don't buy unhealthy snacks....unless it's time for my period haha my kid knows when I'm due as there's unhealthy snacks 😅so she gets her balance of fun snacks.
Greek yohurt honey blueberries or other fruit and granola on top.
I try to mix it up, kid could eat hummus daily but I get one box a week and spread it out snack wise.
Cheese and crackers sometimes if I'm having a cheeseboard.
Croissants I get frozen and bake but it takes a while so that's saved for weekends or quiet weekdays.
I bake a lot so we have a mix of baked good and my kid can happily eat a second helping of dinner same day or she will have it next day as a snack a quick reheat.
She also likes kimbap/sushi as a snack (inari too) so sometimes I have that in the fridge over 24h. And yes I mealplan the snacks every week to make sure I always have something. Oh and those oat jars too.

As a kid we just three good meals a day then we had a full fruit bowl which we could dip into at our leisure. I would just increase meal sizes and cut down on snacks completely.

My two love a 'snack plate' this normally consists of healthy stuff with the occasional small treat. So today it was cut up fruit, cheese on a cracker and a small gingerbread man.

Other things include boiled eggs, dry cereal, raisans, banana milkshakes, croissants, pin wheels

Mine also love a ‘snack plate, they get really happy! But also would like them to snack less. Chopped apple with peanut butter to dip is a fave. Date bark - look up the recipe - delicious and satisfying. Oatcake biscuits, low sugar. Itsu seaweed thins. Pistachios, cashews, plain kefir with fruit and honey. Popcorn.

Mine (2, 5 and 7) have access to a fruit bowl (which I ration) and can have veg sticks (pepper, carrot, cucumber, celery, whatever else we have). I don't offer dips with veg.

Crisps and biscuits are a treat. They sometimes split a packet of crisps between them as part of lunch at weekends. A biscuit might get offered as a dessert once a week.

It can be hard if you get into a rut of them having (and therefore expecting) too much junk food which probably most of us did over xmas. The only way out of it is to change what they're routinely offered, you might have a week of whining but then you'll be back on an even keel

I think it's east to maintain this at your DC she, however my DC are teens are heavily influenced by friends. I appreciate your efforts and hope they maintain it as long as you can.

I can't imagine if I introduced one treat/biscuit a week and share 1 bag of crisps.

Oops errors, meant 'easy' and 'age'
Flippin autocorrect

Yoghurt coated rice cakes.

Also apparently if you bake strawberries in the oven for hour and half..or 2 hours, they are like sweeties. (Not tried it yet, just random recipe that popped up)

Lollies (frozen fruit smoothies)

I also enjoy stewing apples with cinnamon then eating with a dollop of yoghurt.

Dried apple rings are nice to for a snack on the go.

Hummus is a big one, i make my own so add different flavours, but in store its generally a deal for two. Then i make a platter with different things to dip.
Also try cream cheese mixed with mashed avocado for a dip, its surprisingly yum.

Brushetta if you have time, or get riveta and top it with pesto, sundried tomatoes and mozerella. Quick and yum. Or other toppings, just experiment i
With what you all fancy

Or slice rosemary foccaia into strips warm in the oven and top with philadelphia.

Im hungry now 😂😂

Thanks all, some fab ideas here. Some I know my kids like already and we just need to be organised, some will be more challenging!

Im definitely braced for at least a week of whining…

I find that other people constantly claim things like ‘my kids eat me out of fruit/veg, love X really healthy snacks, I never buy sugary/processed/unhealthy stuff’ and it makes me feel guilty and useless.
my kids eat LOADS of ‘unhealthy’ snacks but I try to limit portion sizes e.g. a biscuit, a small cereal bar, a snack sized chocolate bar (club, penguin type thing). They do take a yo-yo bear type fruit based snack or similar bar (who knows if these are actually any healthier) for school break most days as they seem to really like them. They are used to a snack being max one of these items at a time, usually choose one of the more unhealthy options above after school but often have these twice a day during hols/weekends. They are both slim and relatively active.
I would pick your battles and work out what is doable.

@RedPanda2022 my kids really do enjoy the things I've mentioned AS WELL AS things like crisps and biscuits. But op doesn't need ideas of what crisps to buy, so that's why people are only listing the healthier things their dcs like - because that is what the op explicitly asked for.

As for "I never buy unhealthy things"....that normally backfires ime, but to each their own.

@MillicentTheMagnificent @RedPanda2022

I rarely buy unhealthy things....because I bake them haha
Currently have about 20kg callebaut in my cupboard (all diff kinds and for muffins the ones that don't melt)
Kid isn't a huge fan of chocolate bars/crisps etc she prefers sushi nr 1 but then after that we have plenty of cake etc and home bakes but op wasn't after the cake recipes etc. If you are interested - we tend to follow finch bakery recipes and crumbs and doilies (jemma cupcake YouTube, check it out) and have a freezer full of cookie dough balls too - the recipe is on YouTube i recommend. They're legit frozen big balls and you shove into oven or air fryer if you have one and bake. Immediate AMAZING cookies idk if more unhealthy than shop bought ones idk never gave it any thought.

We eat cake (I bake sponge celebration cakes, recently Ferrero rocher jemma cupcake recipe) cookies, tiramisu, tray bakes, muffins, cupcakes, jar cakes etc and most of these I bake in batches and freeze and I will defrost and quickly decorate with quickly whipped up buttercream or just defrost cake slices. I wouldn't say on a daily basis for kid but that's her choice, i dont deny or encourage. It could be to do with the fact i let her overeat goodies and she felt unwell and she seems to know her limits now or at least tries to balance I'm assuming so she doesn't end up feeling unwell again 😂

I'm a greedy shit. Then on my period I buy kitkats, crisps and junk food from shops as I cba to ice or bake or remember to defrost. I just lay on the sofa in an existence of junk food but somehow my kid isn't into that, she gets excited for the shop bought treats but she's soon over it. She will also sometimes tell me off for eating too many 😂i wish I had such a stable relationship with junk food as she does haha